Neural Plasticity And Memory

A comprehensive, multidisciplinary review, Neural Plasticity and Memory: From Genes to Brain Imaging provides an in-depth, up-to-date analysis of the study of the neurobiology of memory. Leading specialists share their scientific experience in the field, covering a wide range of topics where molecular, genetic, behavioral, and brain imaging techniques have been used to investigate how cellular and brain circuits may be modified by experience. In each chapter, researchers present findings and explain their innovative methodologies. The book begins by introducing key issues and providing a historical overview of the field of memory consolidation. The following chapters review the putative genetic and molecular mechanisms of cell plasticity, elaborating on how experience could induce gene and protein expression and describing their role in synaptic plasticity underlying memory formation. They explore how putative modifications of brain circuits and synaptic elements through experience can become relatively permanent and hence improve brain function. Interdisciplinary reviews focus on how nerve cell circuitry, molecular expression, neurotransmitter release, and electrical activity are modified during the acquisition and consolidation of long-term memory. The book also covers receptor activation/deactivation by different neurotransmitters that enable the intracellular activation of second messengers during memory formation. It concludes with a summary of current research on the modulation and regulation that different neurotransmitters and stress hormones have on formation and consolidation of memory.

Over the years there has been growing interest among the scientific community in investigating sleep and how it affects the memory and other brain functions. It is now well established that sleep helps in memory consolidation and induction of neural plasticity, and that short-term deprivation of either total sleep or rapid eye movement sleep alone can induce memory deficits very quickly. Quantitative and qualitative changes in sleep architecture after different training tasks further suggest that discrete memory types may require specific sleep stage/s for optimal memory consolidation, and studies indicate that sleep deprivation alters synaptic plasticity and membrane excitability in the hippocampal neurons and synaptic up-scaling in the cortical neurons. Further, sleep alteration during pregnancy may increase the risk of depression and adversely affect maternal-child relationships, parenting practices, family functioning, and children's development and general wellbeing. This book coherently discusses all these aspects, with a particular focus on the possible role of sleep in memory consolidation and synaptic plasticity. It also highlights the detrimental effects of sleep loss on mental health, the immune system and cognition. This book is a valuable reference resource for students and researchers working in the area of sleep, memory, or neuronal plasticity.

This volume brings together authors working on a wide range of topics to provide an up to date account of the underlying mechanisms and functions of neurogenesis and synaptogenesis in the adult brain. With an increasing understanding of the role of neurogenesis and synaptogenesis it is possible to envisage improvements or novel treatments for a number of diseases and the possibility of harnessing these phenomena to reduce the impact of ageing and to provide mechanisms to repair the brain.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a significant source of death and permanent disability, contributing to nearly one-third of all injury related deaths in the United States and exacting a profound personal and economic toll. Despite the increased resources that have recently been brought to bear to improve our understanding of TBI, the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches has been disappointingly slow. Translational Research in Traumatic Brain Injury attempts to integrate expertise from across specialties to address knowledge gaps in the field of TBI. Its chapters cover a wide scope of TBI research in five broad areas: Epidemiology Pathophysiology Diagnosis Current treatment strategies and sequelae Future therapies Specific topics discussed include the societal impact of TBI in both the civilian and military populations, neurobiology and molecular mechanisms of axonal and neuronal injury, biomarkers of traumatic brain injury and their relationship to pathology, neuroplasticity after TBI, neuroprotective and neurorestorative therapy, advanced neuroimaging of mild TBI, neurocognitive and psychiatric symptoms following mild TBI, sports-related TBI, epilepsy and PTSD following TBI, and more. The book integrates the perspectives of experts across disciplines to assist in the translation of new ideas to clinical practice and ultimately to improve the care of the brain injured patient.

The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."

This book reviews current knowledge on the importance of sleep for brain function, from molecular mechanisms to behavioral output, with special emphasis on the question of how sleep and sleep loss ultimately affect cognition and mood. It provides an extensive overview of the latest insights in the role of sleep in regulating gene expression, synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis and how that in turn is linked to learning and memory processes. In addition, readers will learn about the potential clinical implications of insufficient sleep and discover how chronically restricted or disrupted sleep may contribute to age-related cognitive decline and the development of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. The book consists of 19 chapters, written by experts in basic sleep research and sleep medicine, which together cover a wide range of topics on the importance of sleep and consequences of sleep disruption. This book will be of interest to students, researchers and clinicians with a general interest in brain function or a specific interest in sleep.

This is the second time that I have had the honor of opening an interna tional symposium dedicated to the functions of the hippocampus here in Pecs. It was a pleasure to greet the participants in the hope that their valuable contributions will make this meeting a tradition in this town. As one of the hosts of the symposium, I had the sorrowful duty to remind you of the absence of a dear colleague, Professor Graham God dard. His tragic and untimely death represents the irreparable loss of both a friend and an excellent researcher. This symposium is dedicated to his memory. If I compare the topics of the lectures of this symposium with those of the previous one, a striking difference becomes apparent. A dominating tendency of the previous symposium was to attempt to define hippocam pal function or to offer data relevant to supporting or rejecting existing theoretical positions. No such tendency is reflected in the titles of the present symposium, in which most of the contributions deal with hip pocampal phenomena at the most elementary level. Electrical, biochemi cal, biophysical, and pharmacological events at the synaptic, membrane, or intracellular level are analyzed without raising the question of what kind of integral functions these elementary phenomena are a part of.

Identification of Neural Markers Accompanying Memory is a fresh and novel volume of memory study, providing up-to-date and comprehensive information for both students and researchers focused on the identification of neural markers accompanying memory. Contributions by experts in specific areas of memory study provide background on and definitions of memory, memory alterations, and the brain areas involved in memory and its related processes, such as consolidation, retrieval, forgetting, amnesia, and antiamnesiac effects. With coverage of the principal neurotransmitters related to memory, brain disorders presenting memory alterations, and available treatments—and with discussion of neural markers as new targets for the treatment of memory alterations—Identification of Neural Markers Accompanying Memory is a necessary and timely work for researchers in this growing field. Discusses the alterations of memory in diverse diseases Includes coverage from a basic introduction of memory investigation Reviews brain areas and neurotransmitters involved in memory Discusses behavioral models of memory Contains novel insights into the complexity of signaling and memory Includes the neuropharmacological and neurobiological bases of memory